In the anime, who is not a childhood sweetheart?

After all, she went to Eagle Country to study, not to enjoy herself, so she had to endure this level of inconvenience.

Anyway, it will only take more than two years at most, it will go by quickly.

"My weight hasn't changed much, but I've grown a little taller... Let's not talk about that anymore, and don't worry about me. I'm doing fine over there. I'm also making sure to drink milk and eat fruit every day to ensure I get enough nutrition, so there's nothing to worry about. It's been a while since we last met, everyone. How have you been lately?"

Maybe it was because she hadn't been able to talk freely with her friends for a long time, Yukino spoke a lot unconsciously when she first met the country.

Eriri and Minamoto Chiya surrounded her in the middle, with Rikka following beside them and laughing. Everyone happily took the tram to the city center.

Regarding the question of where to go for lunch at noon, Rikka suggested: "Xueno, you have been abroad for so long, you must be missing the taste of home. How about we go to a Japanese restaurant for lunch?"

Although Rikka's starting point is mostly for Yukino's sake, she actually has her own little thoughts as well.

We don’t make tempura often at home because we’re afraid of the trouble, but she’s been craving it for a long time, so this is a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone!

No one else had any objection, so Rika found a Japanese restaurant on the street that sounded good, and the four of them walked in together.

"welcome!"

The clerk led the four people into the store and sat down.

After giving two menus, Yuan Qianye silently pushed the menu to Liuhua beside him. For some reason, the look in his eyes when he looked at her became particularly gentle and doting, and he even touched her head.

"Qianye...what's wrong with you suddenly?"

"It's okay, I just suddenly felt that my Rikka is really cute."

"?"

When these words came out of nowhere without any preparation, not only did Rikka shudder all over, but even Eriri and Yukino, who were sitting opposite her, looked at each other in confusion.

The two of them covered their faces with the menus and whispered together: "I've been abroad for a while. What happened to Qianye?"

Why do I feel like he's starting to show some sister-con traits?

"I don't know. I've never seen him treat Rikka like this before..."

After entering the store, Yuan Qianye's focus shifted.

He poured a cup of tea for Liuhua in a flattering manner, and then he slowly opened the God's perspective and looked towards the girl with long black hair and the working woman in professional OL attire who were sitting at a table not far away.

…………

051: The anxiety of having the work cut short

After staying in the big city of Tokyo for a long time, I will always be influenced by the successful things done by other outstanding people around me.

The weak silently bow down, sighing softly that they are inferior to others, and then there is no follow-up, and finally they are lost in the crowd.

The strong ones have high morale and will only be motivated. They will not give in and will work hard towards their dreams. No matter what the final result is, at least they have tried their best.

Utaha Kasumigaoka considers herself a strong person and has always been proud of herself. After all, she has been smart since she was very young.

From elementary school to junior high school, she spent more than half of her time in class distracted and lazy.

Even under such circumstances, she consistently achieved the top spot in the school every year without any surprises.

Studying does not bring her any pressure, and the peers around her cannot inspire her to fight in the slightest.

Feeling extremely bored, she gradually began to like reading literary books with deeper meanings.

After a long time, she thought she was knowledgeable enough and wanted to emulate those famous authors.

To provide some valuable literary nourishment to the unstable Japanese society today and enrich the people's spiritual world.

She did what she said and wrote a short essay with lofty ambitions as soon as she entered the first year of junior high school.

After reviewing it, she thought the sentences were beautiful and the meaning was profound, so she immediately sent it to a well-known literary newspaper and magazine in the industry.

I thought it would be successfully accepted and published, and my career as a writer would officially begin.

But the reality was quite cruel and directly burst her beautiful fantasy bubble.

The newspaper sent her essay back with a brief comment: the writing was good, but the idea was too shallow and lacked depth.

After seeing this comment, Kasumigaoka Utaha became determined to win.

For the first time in her life, she found something that could boost her fighting spirit, so she naturally wouldn't give up so easily.

So she threw the first short article into the trash can and started writing the second, the third...

But the final result was, without exception, that the post was rejected. The better comments would say, "Keep up the hard work, there is hope for the future."

The most unmerciful comment was, "The whole text lacks experience, and it reads like whining without any reason."

During that time, Kasumigaoka Utaha's confidence and arrogance were so great that they fell from the sky to the dust, and she fell into a vicious circle.

The more she is not recognized, the more she wants to prove herself.

The more she wanted to prove herself, the more anxious she became to write something.

It is easy to imagine that at her current age, with such inexperienced in the world and with such an impatient mentality, the words she writes will never impress those senior editors who have been working in the literary field for a long time.

Just when she was feeling completely despaired, a kind editor sent her a comment and kindly gave her some extra advice, "There is more than one path to success in literature. Fantastic Library will be holding a light novel writing contest soon and has set up a newcomer award. If you are interested, you can try there."

Utaha Kasumigaoka had never paid much attention to those light novels with various beautiful girls on the covers.

But after experiencing a series of rejections, she has somewhat curbed her arrogance and grown.

I actually listened to the advice and learned about the writing competition that the editor mentioned. I also started to buy a lot of light novels that had good reviews and started to read them seriously when I got home.

It’s worth mentioning that although light novels are not as concise and sharp as traditional literature, the storylines and fun in them are truly fascinating.

Kasumigaoka was not in a hurry this time. Instead, she read a considerable number of light novels, enriched herself, understood the writing style of light novels, and understood the audience of light novels before she decided to start writing.

In accordance with the requirements of the essay contest, I sent out my outline and the final draft of 30,000 words.

This time she passed on her first try, and her carefully prepared campus romance story was picked up by an editor named Machida Sonoko.

When she came to Bunko Publishing House for an interview and contract signing, people older than her called her "teacher" one after another. This really made her experience for the first time the wonderful feeling of sweet rewards after all the hard work!

But... this feeling didn't last long.

She now finally understood the meaning of the statement, "In the process of creating light novels, signing a contract is just the beginning."

----

At noon.

Japanese food store.

Fantastic Bunko's editor, Sonoko Machida, is discussing with her author, Kasumi Shiko (pen name Kasumigaoka Shiha), a summary of the performance of her currently serialized school romance light novel, "Love Metronome," and other matters.

Editor Machida Sonoko spoke softly, "...Ms. Kasumi Shiko, generally speaking, for a new work by a new author, selling two thousand copies in the first volume without any additional resources to promote it is already a pretty good result. We still have a chance. If the sales of the next volume improve, I can report it to the higher-ups and ask them to give us more opportunities."

Despite the editor's comfort, Kasumigaoka Utaha's expression was not relaxed.

Although she is a novice light novel writer, she still understands some basic rules.

Light novels are sold in volumes, and the actual sales volume will determine whether the next volume will continue to be released or whether it will be directly cut short!

This industry is cruel and real, and the favor and support of market readers is everything!

Incompetent light novel writers should be kicked out directly to make way for others who have the potential to create hit works.

After all, the spaces for books in bookstores and bookstalls are limited, and it is impossible to let unpopular light novels take up space and waste precious sales space!

After a long silence, Kasumigaoka Utaha spoke up: "Ms. Machida, we only have one chance now, right?"

The editor had a bitter look on her face, looking at the girl in front of her with some reluctance, but she still nodded: "Yes."

"What are the editor's requirements for the second volume to be released?"

"At least... we need to double the current sales level."

“…” Kasumigaoka Utaha fell silent.

The performance of the first volume shows the market's acceptance of her light novel. Based on this, the second volume has to double in popularity, which is no easy task.

The editor also knew that Kasumigaoka was in a heavy mood, but there was nothing she could do.

This is a difficult hurdle that almost every light novel author will encounter. There is no point in saying more, and the only thing she can do is to push herself through it: "Don't think too much about it, Teacher Kasumi Shiko. Let's eat first. The food is almost cold."

Kasumigaoka Utaha had no mind to eat at the moment. Her mind was filled with the pressure that her first work was about to be cut short.

She picked up her chopsticks, planning to have a couple of bites before going straight home and putting all her effort into refining the second volume that was about to be released.

She is proud by nature, and now that she has finally seized the opportunity, how could she be willing to let it slip away!

When she was in this state of mind and just started to eat, a young man came to the table.

Clean and tidy clothes, and a face that makes people unable to leave after taking one look.

He had a reserved and polite smile on his face, and a hint of excitement was revealed in his shyness.

"Um, please tell me, are you Kasumi Shiko-sensei from Love Metronome?"

…………

052: Still some things have changed

"What are you looking at?"

After looking at her deskmates Eriri and Rikka strangely for a few times, Yukino finally couldn't help but ask directly.

"Ah, it's nothing. You guys eat your food and don't worry about me."

Yuan Qianye stared at his phone and answered without even looking up.

Although Yukino was still dissatisfied with his reaction, she couldn't say anything.

Although playing with mobile phones at the dinner table is impolite, since they are a group of friends together, this level of behavior is really not a big deal.

But the key point is that Yuan Qianye's behavior does not look like normal playing with a mobile phone at all.

After he entered the store and touched Liuhua's head, he quickly took out his mobile phone and kept staring at it, swiping it at a very fast frequency.

It was like looking at something extremely important.

His eyes were focused and his lips moved slightly from time to time, but no sound came out, as if he was trying desperately to remember something.

After Yukino asked, Rika, who was beside him, secretly glanced at him, then typed something on her phone and sent it to Yukino and Eriri.

[The screen is full of words. He seems to be reading a novel.]

What kind of novel do I have to read while I’m eating? I just got back home...

Xueno herself didn't realize that she was a little dissatisfied, but she didn't say anything and didn't care about Yuan Qianye anymore.

Instead, he followed Eriri and Rikka's previous questions and recounted his daily experiences while studying in Eagle Country.

But she always kept a trace of attention on Yuan Qianye, because she always felt that the scene before her was familiar.

It was just because it happened so long ago that she couldn't remember it for the moment.

Another five minutes passed before Yuan Qianye put his unlocked phone into his pocket and suddenly said, "I saw a famous person. I'm going to talk to him. You guys take your time eating. Don't worry about me. I'll be back soon."

Under the gaze of the other three, he immediately stood up and walked towards another table not far away.

Ying Lili looked puzzled: "What's going on?"

Rikka leaned over and asked, "Famous person? Who?"

Xueno frowned, she remembered the trick of taking out the phone first and then striking up a conversation!

When this guy coaxed Eriri back then, didn’t he use the same method just now?

She put down her chopsticks and was the calmest of the three. "Don't worry, let's wait and see."

----

After Gen Qianye greeted them, both Kasumigaoka Utaha and the editor were stunned.

The editor, a mature adult, reacted much faster. She didn't rush to respond, but instead asked in confusion, "Excuse me, who are you..."

Yuan Qianye, after being asked this question, suddenly showed his youthful innocence. He reacted quickly and explained, "Excuse me, I really like the book Love Metronome. I was sitting over there and just heard you call her Teacher Kasumi Shiko. I thought it couldn't be such a coincidence..."

It turns out that they are my own fans.